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☆ There is only one way to overcome workers' fear of AI, says PwC's Tim Ryan
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Susan Caminiti | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

As companies look to deploy generative artificial intelligence across their businesses, leaders run the risk of leaving the bulk of their employees behind. That's a mistake that will cost companies dearly, according to PwC's Tim Ryan. Since generative AI burst onto the business landscape last November, CEOs have been trying to understand the impact the technology will have on their companies. He knew the only way to quell that worry was to train them on the new technologies PwC was using. Upskilling was very important because we were sensitive to what our people were feeling, and that was worry."

Persons: Tim Ryan, Ryan, he's, Upskilling Organizations: Workers Locations: PwC

REUTERS/Lewis Jackson/File PhotoSYDNEY, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Australia will drastically tighten penalties for promoters of dodgy tax schemes and beef up the power of regulators as part of reforms announced on Sunday in response to a scandal over the use of leaked tax plans by PwC Australia. PwC Australia was not fined for the breach under the existing rules, and the changes will not applied retroactively, a Treasury spokesperson told Reuters. "The PwC scandal exposed severe shortcomings in our regulatory frameworks," said the statement from the ministers for treasury and finance and the attorney general. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) foiled several attempts by companies to subvert the 2016 Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law but was frustrated in its subsequent investigation by "highly ambitious if not false" legal privilege claims from PwC Australia. Collins and PwC Australia were not sanctioned until late 2022 by a separate agency that regulates tax agents, the Tax Practitioners Board, after police said there was insufficient information for them to act.

Persons: Lewis Jackson, Peter Collins, Collins, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, PwC, Facebook, Bills, Reuters, Australian Tax, Thomson Locations: Barangaroo, Australia, PwC Australia

☆ Beyond the metaverse
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Pwc | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

However, many consumers — and even business leaders — are still confused about what the metaverse actually is and how it will work. No matter what you call it — the metaverse, spatial computing, the 3D web – when the metaverse is broken down into its component parts, more realistic applications emerge. "We call it Metaverse Technologies for a reason." PwCIt's not just retail; events that have traditionally relied on in-person participation are also embracing a combination of metaverse technologies. The Venice Carnival is just one example of how metaverse technologies can create new ways for people to connect, learn, and experience the world.

Persons: —, Roberto Hernandez, We've, Hernandez, Joe Harrington, Harrington, We're, Alberto Bozzo, Ve.La, PwC Organizations: Technologies, PwC, Venice Carnival, Venice, Companies, Insider Studios Locations: Venice

Media and entertainment deal-making has slowed, but private equity players are still betting big on the space. Middle Eastern sources are still providing funding to media, which could fuel deals in the months ahead. Media deal volume has actually increased, just not as fast; PwC recorded media deals rose 3% (to 326) in the six months through May, down from a 7% increase in the previous six months. And beyond private equity, legacy players could shed properties they consider non-core: Paramount is trying to offload BET while Warner Bros. Insider's list of top private equity players in media and entertainment highlights 17 firms, from heavy hitters to smaller upstarts, based on our reporting and conversations with investors and insiders.

Persons: PwC, Hollywood —, Ryan, Morgan Stanley, Sherrese Clarke Soares Organizations: Media, Hollywood, RedBird Capital Partners, NFL, Company, Qatar Investment Authority, Yahoo, ESPN, Paramount, BET, Warner Bros, Discovery, Equity Partners Locations: Providence, BlackRock

Uber and Facebook on Friday said they had received advice from PwC Australia about the law. "We had no knowledge their advice may have been based on improperly obtained information," an Uber spokesperson said. Uber dropped PwC Australia as a tax adviser in 2016 after "engagements" with the Australian Tax Office, the spokesperson added. Uber and Facebook's links to PwC on the leaked tax plans were first reported by the Australian Financial Review on Friday. A PwC Australia spokesperson said the matter "was a PwC issue" and its "clients were not involved in any wrongdoing and no confidential information was used to enable clients to pay less tax."

Persons: Uber, PwC, PwC's, Lewis Jackson, Sonali Paul Organizations: SYDNEY, PwC, Facebook, Reuters, Google, Australian Tax Office, Treasury, Australian, Tax, Board, Public Company, Thomson Locations: PwC Australia, Australia

☆ Allegro says independent board to oversee PwC Australia's government business
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, July 4 (Reuters) - Australian investment firm Allegro Funds said on Tuesday it would set up an independent board to oversee PwC Australia's government practice business, which it bought last month, and committed A$100 million ($67 million) for transition costs. PwC Australia on June 25 entered an exclusivity agreement with Allegro to sell its government practice for A$1 as it battles to contain a fallout from a scandal over the leak of confidential government tax documents. Allegro said it had reached a binding term sheet on the sale, with the new business to be called Scyne Advisory and fully independent of PwC. PwC Australia said on Monday that it fired eight partners as part of an internal investigation into the leak. Former CEO Tom Seymour and the other seven partners named by PwC did not respond to requests for comment.

Persons: Allegro, Tom Seymour, PwC, Renju Jose, Matthew Lewis Organizations: SYDNEY, Allegro, Advisory, Federal, of, Scyne Advisory, PwC, Thomson Locations: Australia, of Australia, PwC Australia, Sydney

CARE Hospitals Group, according to another investor source, is in talks to sell a 70% stake to U.S. investment giant Blackstone (BX.N) in a deal valued at $800 million. MORE ATTRACTIVE THAN EVERAs government hospitals became increasingly overburdened and incomes rose in India's vast middle class, demand for private healthcare rose over the years. "The India healthcare opportunity has always been attractive, but never more than now. In 2022, PE investors spent $3.2 billion buying stakes in hospitals in India. "Big private hospitals are more reliable," said 35-year-old G. Chavan said as he accompanied his wife to see a doctor.

Persons: Rana Mehta, PwC's, Atlantic, Indira, Blackstone, Gaurav Sharma, Investcorp, Nishant Sharma, Sharma, Chavan, Sriram, Aditya Kalra, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: PwC, General Atlantic, CARE Hospitals, Blackstone, CARE, Kedaara Capital, ASIA'S PACE, Temasek, Reuters Graphics, Apollo Hospitals, Thomson Locations: India, PUNE, Pune, Indira, Bahrain, Mumbai, Manipal, Asia

☆ Galym Imanbayev went from Stanford School of Medicine to venture capital. Here's why he says his medical training has been so crucial to becoming an investor at Lightspeed.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

During his senior year of high school, Imanbayev discovered another interest, entirely by chance. After mistiming his MCAT, Imanbayev faced one gap year before he could start medical school. As he jumped into the grueling demands of medical school, Imanbayev said that for everything he studied, there were additional things he wanted to add on and learn. Helping Lightspeed push into healthtech investingSince 2020, Imanbayev has been a partner at Lightspeed focusing on the health sector. Imanbayev himself has spearheaded investments for Lightspeed in the healthcare-equity startup Soda Health and the virtual-care startup Wheel.

Persons: Galym Imanbayev, he'd, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Jack Dorsey, Imanbayev, Imanbayev's, Dean Lloyd Minor's Organizations: Stanford, VC, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Co, Oregon Health & Science University, Martis, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Lightspeed, Ancora Biotech, Soda Health Locations: Kazakhstan, Soviet Union, Portland , Oregon

The Australian scandal is the latest in a number the "big four" professional services firm has faced around the globe. Auditor PwC said it was unable to comment on client issues due to confidentiality clauses. Its auditor PwC and affiliates agreed to pay $33 million in fines and compensation to settle U.S. litigation in 2011. India's market regulator barred PwC's local affiliate from auditing listed companies for two years in 2018, but that was overturned the following year. ($1 = 1.4984 Australian dollars)Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Praveen Menon and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kristin Stubbins, PwC, Lewis Jackson, Praveen Menon, Sonali Paul Organizations: SYDNEY, PricewaterhouseCoopers, International, Wyelands Bank, Colonial Bank ., Satyam, Enron, PwC, Thomson Locations: Australia, Brazil, Britain, Alabama, Colonial Bank . India

SYDNEY, June 26 (Reuters) - PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia staff who are found to have acted improperly in a scandal over the leaking of government tax plans will face "severe" consequences, acting chief executive Kristin Stubbins told a state parliament inquiry on Monday. "We have failed the standards we set for ourselves as an organisation, and I apologise on behalf of our firm," Stubbins said. The firm has already placed nine partners on leave and named four former partners directly involved in the breach who have since left the firm. The move will cut PwC Australia off from the "vast majority" of public sector consulting work, although some external audit work for government clients may stay, said Stubbins. She will remain in the role until Kevin Burrowes, currently Global Clients & Industries lead based in Singapore, relocates to Australia for the job.

Persons: Kristin Stubbins, Stubbins, David Seymour, Kevin Burrowes, Lewis Jackson, Diane Craft, Sonali Paul Organizations: SYDNEY, PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia, Allegro Funds, Global, Industries, Thomson Locations: Australia, New South Wales, ringfence, PwC Australia, Singapore

SYDNEY, June 26 (Reuters) - Australian lawmakers will ask for more details about PwC staff involved in the leak of government tax plans when acting head Kristin Stubbins appears before a state parliament on Monday, her first public appearance since her predecessor stepped down over the scandal. But there were still many unanswered questions, inquiry chair and Greens party lawmaker Abigail Boyd said on Sunday. "(The sale) seems like a really good way to avoid scrutiny," she told Reuters on Sunday. "Look we've taken action, we've sold off the business, we've got a new person in, everything is fine. She will remain in the role until Kevin Burrowes, currently Global Clients & Industries lead based in Singapore, relocates to Australia for the job.

Persons: Kristin Stubbins, Stubbins, Abigail Boyd, we've, Boyd, David Seymour, Kevin Burrowes, Lewis Jackson, Diane Craft Organizations: SYDNEY, Global, Industries, Thomson Locations: New South Wales, NSW, Singapore, Australia

[1/2] PwC sign is seen in the lobby of their offices in Barangaroo, Australia June 22, 2023. PwC Australia made A$3 billion ($2.01 billion) in revenue last financial year. Allegro Funds describes itself as a restructuring specialist with over A$4 billion ($2.68 billion) under management. Acting PwC Australia chief executive Kristin Stubbins said last month the firm would "ringfence" its government consulting business and appoint a separate board to consider "strategic options for the business". In a sign the scandal is beginning to impact PwC's private sector work, four major pension funds managing roughly A$750 billion froze work with the firm this month.

Persons: Lewis Jackson SYDNEY, PwC, Kristin Stubbins, Lewis Jackson, Lincoln, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia, Allegro, Reserve Bank of Australia, Australian Financial, Funds, PwC Australia, Thomson Locations: Barangaroo, Australia

SYDNEY, June 21 (Reuters) - The chair of an Australian senate committee looking into PricewaterhouseCoopers' leak of a confidential government tax plan has called for an international investigation into the matter. Earlier this month, PwC Australia listed in an unpublished letter to the senate committee at least 67 current and former staff who may have known of the 2015 leak of confidential government tax plans. Acting CEO Kristin Stubbins apologised for the leak on behalf of the firm in an open letter last month. The report also called on PwC to cooperate fully with a current Australian Federal Police investigation. ($1 = 1.4778 Australian dollars)Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Richard Colbeck, PwC, Kristin Stubbins, Lewis Jackson, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: SYDNEY, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Australian Federal Police, Thomson Locations: Australia

☆ 'Great Resignation' continues as quarter of workers look to change jobs - PwC
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Divya Chowdhury | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, June 20 (Reuters) - A quarter of workers surveyed by PwC expect to change jobs in the next 12 months, up from 19% last year, as they are increasingly left cash-strapped in a cooling economy while dealing with inflationary pressures. Even as the 'Great Resignation' continues, around 42% of the employees surveyed by PwC in its new study of the global workforce said they are planning to demand payrises to cope with the higher cost of living, up from 35% last year. "With the ongoing economic uncertainty, we see a global workforce that wants more pay and more meaning from their work," said Bhushan Sethi, joint global leader of PwC's people & organization practice. Around one worker in five is doing multiple jobs, with 69% of those saying they were doing so for additional income. Among the workers surveyed who were doing better financially, more than one-third said AI will improve their productivity, while a quarter expected AI to create new job opportunities.

Persons: Bhushan Sethi, Gen, Divya Chowdhury, Jan Harvey Organizations: PwC, Survey, Workers, Reuters Global, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Mumbai

☆ Who wants to be a CEO right now?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Let's be real: Being a CEO sucks right now. But 2023 has brought a level of scrutiny that makes being a CEO today a nightmare for even the toughest leader. CNN's former chief Chris Licht stepped down on Wednesday after less than a year, following intense criticism from inside and outside his newsroom. Meme stock company GameStop fired its CEO Matthew Furlong on the same day as Licht, also after a short tenure. At the low point of a boom-and-bust cycle where high interest rates and high expectations reign supreme, being a CEO sucks.

Persons: Let's, CNN's Chris Licht, —, Jack Welch, CNN's, Chris Licht, Licht, Matthew Furlong, Jeff Shell, Jack Bowles, Patience, Matt Turner, Raul Vargas Organizations: Corporate, Service, General Electric, Observers, GameStop, Google, Farmers Group Locations: freefall, British

☆ McCarthy's moment: Debt ceiling vote secures Republican US House speaker's standing
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

"Keep underestimating us and we'll keep proving to the American public that we'll never give up," McCarthy told reporters after the vote. But in getting the April measure passed, House Republicans became the only body in Washington that had acted to raise the debt ceiling. "Speaker McCarthy's done an incredible job," said Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a member of the hardline Republican House Freedom Caucus. "This is where the honeymoon can definitely end," said Republican strategist Ron Bonjean, a one-time aide to former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Asked this week whether he expects to keep his speakership, McCarthy told a reporter: "What do you think?

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, Joe Biden, McCarthy, Biden, we'll, Dusty Johnson, haven't, Johnson, wouldn't, Donald Trump, Trump, Republican Mitch McConnell, McConnell, Rohit Kumar, Mitch McConnell, Julia Nikhinson, Shalanda Young, McCarthy's, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Patrick McHenry, Garret Graves, Ralph Norman, Norman, that's, John Boehner, Ron Bonjean, Dennis Hastert, I'm, Kelly Armstrong, David Morgan, Steve Holland, Gram Slattery, Jason Lange, Scott Malone, Suzanne Goldenberg Organizations: U.S . House, Republican, Democratic, Democrats, White House, Reuters, Republicans, House Republicans, U.S, Capitol, REUTERS, House, Caucus, White, Thomson Locations: Washington, Washington . U.S, U.S, Washington , U.S

☆ McCarthy's moment: Debt ceiling win secures Republican US House speaker's standing
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

But in getting the April measure passed, House Republicans became the only body in Washington that had acted to raise the debt ceiling. The White House, for its part, contends that the talks between Biden and McCarthy were not a negotiation on the debt ceiling. "Speaker McCarthy's done an incredible job," said Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a member of the hardline Republican House Freedom Caucus. "This is where the honeymoon can definitely end," said Republican strategist Ron Bonjean, a one-time aide to former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Asked this week whether he expects to keep his speakership, McCarthy told a reporter: "What do you think?

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, Joe Biden, McCarthy, Biden, Dusty Johnson, haven't, Johnson, wouldn't, Donald Trump, Trump, Republican Mitch McConnell, McConnell, Rohit Kumar, Mitch McConnell, Shalanda Young, McCarthy's, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Patrick McHenry, Garret Graves, Ralph Norman, Norman, that's, John Boehner, Ron Bonjean, Dennis Hastert, I'm, Kelly Armstrong, David Morgan, Steve Holland, Jason Lange, Scott Malone, Suzanne Goldenberg Organizations: U.S . House, Republican, Democratic, Democrats, White House, Reuters, Republicans, House Republicans, House, Caucus, White, Thomson Locations: Washington

SYDNEY, May 30 (Reuters) - Australian senators will use parliamentary hearings this week to demand accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) name staff and clients who were in on the "big four" firm's misuse of confidential government tax plans. No confidential information was used to help clients pay less tax, it said in the statement on Monday. The cache of emails between 2014 and 2017 discuss how confidential drafts of new rules were used to seek work with U.S. technology companies, among others. The parliamentary committee will hear from the Australian Tax Office and the Tax Practitioners Board and Treasury, which last week referred the matter to police for a possible criminal investigation. Reporting by Lewis Jackson in Sydney; Editing by Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

But some areas of potential compromise emerged after a White House meeting on Tuesday. Deep disagreements remained over competing pressures for spending cuts versus tax increases. Meanwhile, the White House reiterated its backing for legislation speeding government permitting of energy projects by setting maximum timelines. House and Senate Republicans, meanwhile, have said they will not authorize any additional borrowing without an agreement to cut future spending. The last time the nation got this close to default was in 2011 - also with a Democratic president and Senate with a Republican-led House.

Time is tight to avoid a historic, economically destabilizing default, which the Treasury Department has warned could come as soon as June 1, but some areas of potential compromise emerged after a Tuesday White House meeting. Deep disagreements remained over competing pressures for spending cuts versus tax increases. Meanwhile, the White House reiterated its backing for legislation speeding government permitting of energy projects by setting maximum timelines. A White House fact sheet distributed on Wednesday said the administration "supports the important reforms" contained in a bill by Democratic Senator Joe Manchin. House and Senate Republicans, meanwhile, have said they will not authorize any additional borrowing without an agreement to cut spending.

☆ This is not like the 2011 debt ceiling crisis, warns fmr. sr. advisor to House Dem leader Jeffries
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThis is not like the 2011 debt ceiling crisis, warns fmr. sr. advisor to House Dem leader JeffriesMichael Hardaway, former senior advisor to House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Rohit Kumar, PwC's national tax office leaders and former deputy chief of staff to Sen. Mitch McConnell, join 'Squawk Box' to discuss the latest in debt ceiling negotiations, and what comes next after President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy failed to reach consensus during Tuesday's meeting.

Reuters spoke to political tacticians and advisers inside and outside the White House and Congress about tell-tale signals that could come from the meeting. The meeting is set to include Biden, McCarthy, Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries. As invitees to the White House, they're not expected to bring any other lawmakers. MCCARTHY, BIDEN'S TONE BEFORE AND AFTERHeading into Tuesday's meeting, Biden and McCarthy have cast one another as stubborn, misguided and, at times, dangerous. White House officials say they want this to be a productive meeting, not just Washington theater.

☆ The Biden tax proposals that could hit baby boomer, family businesses
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

President Joe Biden's 2024 budget proposals contain several proposals that could hit small businesses right where it hurts — their wallets. Here are five provisions business owners should be aware of in President Biden's budget:A higher capital gains tax rate would be bad for business sellers. Biden is proposing that the corporate tax rate be increased to 28% from 21%. The majority of small businesses are pass-through businesses that are not subject to the corporate income tax, but for companies that are, the increase would be meaningful, tax experts said. Biden's proposal would increase the 3.8% net investment income tax rate on small business income over $400,000 to 5%.

McCarthy told reporters in the U.S. Capitol. Biden said Congress must raise the debt ceiling without conditions, as it did three times under Republican President Donald Trump. It could be difficult for Congress to raise the debt ceiling before then if House Republicans are unable to unite behind a proposal, analysts say. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned on Tuesday that a failure to raise the debt ceiling would trigger a "financial catastrophe" that would sharply raise the cost of borrowing money. Manhattan Institute senior fellow Brian Riedl gives House Republicans a 50-50 chance of passing the legislation this week.

With large language models like OpenAI's GPT-4 and Google's Bard quickly increasing their power and reach, vLex and Fastcase are betting their combined document library will be a rich training data set for legal AI products. "It will always make sense to train legal LLMs on legal data instead of the World Wide Web," Walters said. The merger creates a law library that is "the biggest legal data corpus ever assembled," the companies said. Other large law firms are using new products from companies like Casetext, a legal research company that last month released a new generative AI legal assistant product. Casey Flaherty of legal innovation collective LexFusion predicted the new vLex would be a "serious player" among legal information companies as AI progresses.

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